You held the world in your arms
by Sesame seed
Summary: Ron has finally worked out what love means to him, yet why all of a sudden is Draco so interested in Hermione too? Forces of darkness are gathering all around, do any of them stand a chance?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I always forget to make these! Ok, everything you read here belongs to J.K.Rowling, except the title which is from my favourite Idlewild song, yay go Idlewild! And the style of the narrative which is written like a Victorian gothic romance........just thought I'd experiment! Enjoy....  
  
It felt like years had passed with their cruel hands pulling at his face turning smooth skin into wrinkles stretching his mouth into a silent scream.  
  
They stood there under the cover of a leafy old oak tree drifting it's golden and green leaves down caressing the heads of the couple who stood under it embracing. The boy taller than the girl his right arm firm about her waist shielding her with his cloak. She with her arms wrapped lovingly around his neck, his silvery blonde head lowered to her brown one.  
  
The boy watching felt as if his heart was being pulled out of his chest, he was finding it difficult to breathe even. He stumbled blindly not caring if the sound of his confused footsteps startled them, let it, he didn't care about anything anymore.  
  
He hardly knew how he made it back to the castle or up to his bed, but suddenly there he was lying on his back staring at the shadowy folds of the curtains over him.  
  
........Wait, shadowy?  
  
It was night.  
  
Yet, how could that be? He sat up swiftly, yes all around him were the silent forms of the other boys in the Gryffindor tower, save for the loud snores from Neville Longbottom. Perhaps it was a dream? He lay back down quietly, but it had seemed so real, he could almost smell the moist earth and fresh air of the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. He willed it to have been a dream. He felt his heart slow down again, beating, not broken. He slept.  
  
"You're being very quiet Ron?" It was Hermione, her brown eyes concerned leaning over the breakfast table to look at him.  
  
Ron half-shrugged and laughed "dreamt about Trelawny naked didn't I? Almost died of shock". Around them guffaws of laughter sounded from Seamus and Dean. Hermione looked disapproving but left him alone. Harry on the other hand glanced at him quickly his eyebrows raised.  
  
Ron pretended to ignore it and carried on poking his porridge.  
  
Overhead the flapping of wings and clucking of beaks were heard as owl after owl swooped into the great hall. A beautiful snowy white one landed gracefully in front of Harry nipping his ear affectionately as she dropped her mail. Hermione seized the newspaper immediately and spread it out over the table.  
  
"Still no word!" she said in an exasperated voice.  
  
Harry looked up and Ron, stared down at his hands, better to look at those then watch her mouth when she talked.  
  
"I can't believe Fudge. Just the same advice to everyone about being careful, don't trust strange witches or wizards..."  
  
Harry sighed and Ron looking up had to agree with him. Since the Ministry had finally accepted that Voldemort had returned they had thought that everything was going to be easy now, they could unite to fight him together. Harry was always very quiet when Ron and Hermione brought that up. Once he had said he'd fight him on his own, but the horrified shrieking from Hermione and the "it's not your fault mate. His death isn't your fault" reasoning from Ron had stopped him pretty quickly. Still an odd look would pass across his face whenever the final reckoning with Voldemort was mentioned.  
  
"No wait...." Hermione paused "this is good, they're looking to set up basic defence against the dark arts training for everyone! I bet that was Dumbledore's idea". A smile lit up across her face, making her eyes shine.  
  
Ron paused with prodding his breakfast for a moment. Feeling like this...about her, was making him miserable. He wasn't sure if this was how love worked but if so, it sucked. What was worse he seemed to annoy her, sure they'd fought over the years but recently it was as if everything he said seemed to cause her minor pain. Or maybe it was because he noticed that what he said affected her for the first time.  
  
"Come on, Potions" said Harry, pulling Ron up by the arm.  
  
Ron groaned "Can't we just skip it? Snape will never know. We could do one of Fred and George's lunchbox hex thingys?"  
  
He heard an angry snort behind him and then felt two hands propelling him firmly out of the hall "don't you dare Ronald Weasley!" said a shrill voice.  
  
Ron smiled to himself, if this was happiness then it was fine by him, maybe teasing her was the way to go? Then he caught sight of a sleek blonde head to his right, turning he saw Malfoy smirking at him with his goons standing sentry next to him. And did he just imagine it or when Malfoy's eyes caught sight of Hermione did the sneer in them turn into something else, something dark and secret?  
  
"Wait one moment Weasel" called a proud arrogant voice. Ron stopped abruptly as Hermione ran into the back of him, he was in the mood for a fight with Draco and he hoped that that was what was going to happen right now.  
  
A/N: Ok, I hoped you like the first chapter, if you did please review! It's nice knowing you're writing for an audience :o) 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Yep it's not mine, wish it was though!  
  
"What?" began Ron roughly striding over, before Malfoy had a chance to speak. Slimey little worm he thought angrily, he hated the way the light was shinning on his blonde hair making it look silvery and irridescent. Although Ronald Weasely would never admit it, he knew Malfoy was good- looking. He hoped Hermione had gone to Potions.  
  
No, she was still there dogging his footsteps, he could hear her huffing and sighing.  
  
"I'll make this simple so your weasel-sized brain can understand it" began Malfoy as his cronies behind him almost cracked a rib laughing. He could see Pansy Parkinson's pug-like face smirking at him. "My father is in prison now because of you, her and scar-head. I am severely pissed off. Someone is going to be very sorry".  
  
"Want to bet on that ferret!" said Ron hating him more with every second "your dad is in prison because he is a Death Eater not to mention being a liar and a thief........wait a second that sounds a bit like you doesn't it? Like father like son eh?"  
  
Hermione was muttering something and trying to pull him away.  
  
Draco's face paled to a horrible chalky white except for two little red spots on his cheeks. "You'll pay for that Weasely" he whispered...then regaining his composure "Of course I forgot, your family only has five knuts to it's name, your mum send you out begging in the holidays does she? You know, now that I mention it, I could have sworn I saw a fat, ugly red- headed tart on the corner of Knockturn alley, that your mum's evening jo..?"  
  
But Draco never finished his sentence, Ron throwing his wand aside in pure anger had simply lept on him and was proceeding to punch his face as hard as he could. He could dimly hear shrieks through the rushing of his ears in the background and now something heavy was on top of him and he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think.  
  
***************  
  
"Ron?"  
  
He was in a peaceful place, lots of white light and he felt warm. He felt something take his hand. He looked down........there wasn't anything there........strange.  
  
"Ron?" It was that voice again. It sounded tense, worried. Also sweet and clear, he liked the sound of it. "Please wake up Ron!"  
  
The mists were parting, he could see something in the distance, a faint blur....no wait it was coming nearer. It looked a bit like a bubble with arms and legs moving inside it. Nearer....  
  
It was her. And him. He could see them in a mirror. He had his finger on her mouth "Shhh" he was saying. They were in a darkened room, moonlight's incandescent beams shining silver on his hair, reflecting starlight in her soft eyes. "No-one must know" he whispered.  
  
The girl smiled a little, her face luminous in the pearl-light. "I love you" she said simply.  
  
Ron who had previously been throbbing with jealousy and rage suddenly felt empty. The mists were clearing now all together. Other colours were exploding onto his vision and a face, a familiar face with large worried brown eyes. "Ron!" it seemed to be saying "Wake up!"  
  
The white light circled around her a little, gave her a halo. Never, thought Ron, had she been more beautiful.  
  
"You idiot! I know you're in there, for heaven's sake, wake up!" The vision smashed. He was awake. Hermione was standing there glaring her arms crossed. And he was lying down.....Ron sat up quickly and saw Madam Pomfrey bustling past to the other people in beds, he was in the hospital ward.  
  
"About time" snarled Hermione. "I knew you were faking to get out of Potions, you've hardly got a scratch on you. But this is going too far, you've missed the whole day Ron. This is a very important year, you can't just skip lessons you know".  
  
She had been talking at twice the normal speed and Ron's head was aching. "Wha....?" he mumbled tiredly, putting a hand up to his forehead. He wished he could stop having these dreams about her and Malfoy, they always seemed so real. Hermione was still scolding him in the background but it had now just settled into a pleasant hum. He loved her, he really did, but even he couldn't take her seriously all the time......especially not when she was talking about (urgh) education.  
  
"Where's Harry?" he asked interupting her tirade.  
  
Hermione paused and looked scared.  
  
A/N: Thank you so much to the people who reviewed the first chapter. So you think Hermione shouldn't be with Draco? Lol, we'll see........ Let me know what you think of this one, and ways I can make it better? Sorry for the delay on getting it up, someone needs to spank my lazy arse ;o) 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer = This belongs to J.K.R, who should really hurry up and write her 6th book!  
  
"Well?" asked Ron pushing himself up from the mattress.  
  
"I didn't know..." began Hermione in a voice that sounded parched and faint, like a lone reed in a desert. "He'd been getting them to send him letters."  
  
"Who?" interrupted Ron fiercely.  
  
"I had no idea" she carried on ignoring him, "and now he's gone. He left this" she held up a thin bit of parchment. Ron recognised the messy scrawl etched across it, his heart throbbed painfully.  
  
"What's happened?" he yelled.  
  
"He went to find Voldemort" said Hermione simply.  
  
********************************************  
  
The rest of that day passed Ron in a blur. True he only made it to one lesson, and not that Professor Binn's lectures were things that you could concentrate on, but still, the only sound he heard was the fierce rushing in his own ears. The knife-like stabs of worry in his brain.  
  
He had questioned Hermione over and over again, until she was in tears and he very nearly wanted to break down too. He had forgotten in his love for her, his friendship for Harry, that had always stood true against everything else that had ever gone wrong in his life. Harry had always been his friend.  
  
Ron felt racked by guilt, that Harry hadn't been able to share with him even the idea of him finding the dark wizard. It was something he should never have had to face alone - it was that thought that came to him just at the end of Professor Binn's lesson, when he had suddenly sat straight up in his chair and announced "we'll find him!"  
  
Heads lifted off desks and Neville jumping up, nearly fell off his chair.  
  
"He has been missing for almost three hundred years Mr Weasley. Many famous witches and wizards have already tried to find Alcotross Nicket's grave I assure you" said Binns in a faintly surprised tone.  
  
"What?" began Ron puzzled, he turned to see Hermione frantically shaking her head at him and remembered that in Harry's letter he had said that no- one must know he had gone, except Dumbledore whom he had previously informed. For his mission to be a success, it was vital word did not trace back to Voldemort that Harry was after him. Ron could scarcely believe Dumbledore had agreed to let Harry go, he was all for going to confront him. It was Hermione who had reasoned that Harry was no longer a child and their headmaster knew that Harry would have to face Voldemort sooner or later.  
  
The silence stretched like old rubber across the classroom, as Binns peering over his parchment and the rest of the class stared at Ron. "Yes" began Ron "finding old Knickers grave, that's what I meant" his neck was red under the collar, and he slid down into his seat.  
  
Professor Binns seemed to find the explanation satisfactory and carried on intoning the various dates of Alcotross Nicket's various expeditions into Antartica. Neville Longbottom, it would seem, didn't. And continued staring at Ron with a perplexed frown wrinkling his large forehead.  
  
Hurrying out of the lesson, Ron managed to avoid Neville who had tried to stop him and catching Hermione's arm hurried her along the corridoor until he found the room of requirements. Pushing her inside he noticed it now had maps on the walls, along with strange looking geographical instruments on the shelves. Heavy woollen coats hung on a hat stand, and thick fur- lined boots stood to attention along the floor. Also something that looked suspiciously like an invisibility cloak lay draped over the back of a chair.  
  
"Excellent" breathed Ron.  
  
"Ron" said Hermione disentangling herself from him "what is going on?!"  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" Ron said, turning to her in surprise. "We're going to find Harry, and help him if we can!"  
  
"I knew it" a voice drawled from the corner. The invisibility cloak shifted, out stepped an elegant boot, ending with a silvery blonde head. "I knew saint Potter had run off. Question is, what are you going to do now Weasley?"  
  
It was a smirking Draco Malfoy.  
  
*** A/N - I'm soooo sorry I haven't written this for ages! I've been travelling for the past month and really busy, and I know it's no excuse, but accept my apologies and I hope you enjoy the next installment! Please, please comment and let me know what you think, good, bad, I don't mind!  
  
Also.....might not be able to write in this again for a while as I'm starting uni in a couple of days, wish me luck! I will however, do my best to try and get some more done! 


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